Chelsea Snow opened Bricolage in 2010, when the economy was still bleeding from the wounds of the Great Recession. The downtown Boise store sells things like handmade jewelry, cards and clothes.
But Snow’s vision was to create more than just a store – she wanted to make a community space where crafters of all levels could learn new skills. She hosted workshops on crafts like sewing and printmaking.
“What we really were able to offer was this experience and the space that was not like anything else," says Snow. "And that’s a hard thing to charge money for, and it’s a hard thing to make money doing, but we did it anyway because it felt so good.”
But now, Snow is closing Bricolage. She started graduate school in Portland last year, and tried to run the store remotely. In a blog post written to customers, Snow recently explained her decision in a lengthy and sometimes emotionally raw way. She says the response since writing the post has been overwhelmingly supportive.
Snow plans to focus on grad school and the art she’s creating in Portland. She’ll be back in Boise in March to close up shop.
Find Frankie Barnhill on Twitter @FABarnhill
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